Rabbot Tale
by LNPittman
Summary: A SatAM-based fanfic detailing Bunnie's partial roboticization - and Antoine's resulting feelings of guilt.
1. Failure

**Author's Notes**

In Sonic SatAM, Bunnie's partial roboticization is taken for granted - it's never explained how she got that way, aside from an unused title sequence. It _was_ explained in Archie, but I don't consider that to be in line with SatAM; after all, at that point in the Archie run the story was very slapstick, in contrast to SatAM's dark, serious tone. Archie also rearranged the characters' pasts - in SatAM, Bunnie grew up with the other Freedom Fighters, while in Archie she met them as a teenager, post-roboticization. This is my little attempt at filling in that void.

I portray Antoine as left-handed, because of several official art pieces showing him as such. Besides, it's cool. ^_^ Anyway, please enjoy.

**Chapter One: Failure**

"All right." Bunnie smoothed her fur as she and Antoine peered down at the smog-choked city. "Just a lil ol' trainin' mission, right?"

"_Oui_."

"Flag on th'outskirts an' no reason for anyone to know we even exist."

"Zat iz being too true." The coyote eyed her a moment before standing, sheathing a sword almost too long for him. "You are making ze nervousness." Antoine, the oldest of their group at twelve, had already been into Robotropolis two or three times, and though he was just as uneasy as the rabbit he felt it his duty to present a cavalier attitude.

"Sorry, Ant-honey." She grinned, rubbing the back of her head and allowing one long ear to droop. "Ah 'spect this's old hat for y'all an' Ah'm just a silly lil ninny."

Antoine started to nod, but caught himself in time to shake his head furiously instead. "_Mais non, mademoiselle_! Eet eez only natural to haf ze bread and butter at zees times." He glanced at her puzzled face and coughed, shuffling his feet before he could force himself to dignified military at-ease. "Eh, zat eez, unless you are ze soljair like mahself. But zere are no worries here, as I am presenting." Bunnie brightened, tapping her open palm with opposite fist, and he beamed at her. She had it! Truly, he was the best for training the group!

"Ah got it! Y'all mean butterflies!"

"Eh?" He shook his head, bewildered. Maybe she _didn't_ have it. "No. I mean soljair." The rabbit giggled, and Antoine felt himself reddening. What a maddening little creature!

"Never you mind, Ant-honey." She smiled, patted him between the ears, and began picking her way down the slope. "Let's get that flag!"

**

The flag Cat had planted for the trainees was a bright red spot amongst the unrelieved grey and sickly green-brown of Robotropolis, but between passing patrols and the confusing web of acrid scents and hazy exhaust puffs it was an hour and a half before Bunnie spotted it. She froze, tugging lightly at the hem of Antoine's shirt, and pointed to the scrap of cloth before they both stepped back into the maze of scrapheaps to avoid yet another patrol.

"What the hoohah are they lookin' for?" Bunnie wondered aloud. Antoine shook his head, spreading his hands.

"'Ow are we knowing ze mind of zat creature? Pairhaps somesing has made ze paranoia." He wrinkled his nose, trying to remember if he had seen so many patrols on his last trip. They had died down after years of inactivity from the survivors; Antoine had always assumed that Robotnik thought they had taken refuge in another and was simply not yet prepared for a war with his neighbors to find less than a dozen children and elderly, Princess Sally or no.

"Maybe they noticed Cat plantin' his lil flags?"

"We haf been searching ze flags for sometimes. Cat iz ze brave spying in ze last war, I do not think they are seeing him." The coyote frowned, shifting his weight. He had been up well past lights-out often of late, practicing the sword techniques his father had taught him before his capture; some nights, he had seen Sonic slipping out of Knothole when the hedgehog thought no one was awake. Could he have been coming here, and been spotted? No, Antoine decided, even Sonic wasn't that foolish. Still, the increased activity needed to be reported, and that hedgehog needed to be questioned.

But first things first. There was a mission to attend to, however frivolous.

"I weel take ze flag," he told Bunnie, "and you much watch and leesten for ze patrol. When we are leaving, Cat and ze Princess must know of zis." He crept from their hiding place, flicking an ear back but not replying as she protested that they should forget the flag and leave _now_; a soldier did not give up on a mission, regardless of the danger.

As his fingers closed on the oily cloth, Bunnie shrieked. Antoine turned to see her tumble out of their hiding place with one ear bloodied, a sleek mantislike robot pursuing her and another darting for Antoine himself. He leaped back hastily, sword flicking out to plunge into the delicate joint where the mantis' wing met body to send the robot spinning out of control. Bunnie was on her feet by now, bounding nimbly up a scrap heap to avoid the other mantis, and Antoine dashed after her to swing for its wings as well. He leaped to strike and coyote and robot went rolling down the heap—straight into three SWATbots. Working on instinct now, he gripped the hilt of his sword in both hands and swung, tossing the awkwardly fluttering mantis into the nearest SWATbot as he sprinted back up the heap after Bunnie.

By the time he reached her more SWATbots were approaching, accompanied by the more vicious mantises. Bunnie sprang up to aim a spinning kick at a mantis, knocking it into another but falling with a sharp gasp as the metal bruised her bare foot. Antoine lunged forward as she tried to get to her feet, gripping his sword in both hands to slice at the wrist of a SWATbot preparing to fire. By sheer luck, he hit the joint at precisely the right point to slice cleanly through it; unfortunately, the energy built up for the shot was too much for the insulation wrapped about his sword hilt. The coyote let out a short-lived yelp as the voltage coursed through him and then tumbled limply to the ground fifteen feet below, scrap metal raining down after him.

"_Antoine_!"

Bunnie slid to the edge of the heap, scrambling for balance on the shifting metal. There was no sign of Antoine; the coyote had been completely obscured. She scooted away from an incoming mantis, frowning as the robots all turned there attention to her. They had apparently lost interest in Antoine as soon as he disappeared; to still be motionless under the heap, he had to be unconscious and thus helpless. Bunnie moved to the other side of the heap and slid down, wincing as she landed. She had certainly damaged her foot kicking the mantis, and as she began to run she became sure something was broken. Still, she kept going to draw the robots away from her friend. One of Cat's safe houses was already in sight; if she could only reach it, she could call for help.

**

Antoine awakened to a sharp weight in the small of his back, burning pain in his palms, and an overall bruised feeling.

"You are please getting off of me, Sonic," he muttered, mistaking the sharpness for the hedgehog's quills. Nearly a minute went by with no response, and the coyote shifted, frowning; Sonic stayed silent about as easily as Antoine himself, so something was obviously wrong. As he moved the scrap metal slid off him and he spotted his sword, slightly melted and misshapen, and automatically looked at his hands. Much of the fur was singed from his palms, and the skin below was beginning to blister. Of course—Bunnie had been injured attacking a mantis, and he had intercepted a SWATbot attacking her while she was vulnerable.

"Bunnie? Where you are hiding from me?"

He frowned when no answer came, ears flicking back as annoyance vied with worry, and began circling the scrap heap, pausing as he came across the rabbit's tracks. Following them yielded a meandering path for a few moments before making straight for the nearest safe house. Antoine smiled as he trotted after her. Clever Bunnie! She must have drawn the robots off and then headed for safety to wait for him. He had taught her well(and Cat had too, he supposed).

Within twenty feet of the safe house the rabbit tracks vanished, replaced by a flurry of large, deep footprints. Antoine froze, eyes wide, as he recognized the marks of SWATbots. Bunnie had been intercepted and, no doubt, taken to Robotnik's headquarters. For all his posturing, Antoine had never been beyond the outer city, and the very idea of going into the base left him trembling violently. Bunnie was in there, though, and aside from his feelings of responsibility she was a dear friend. He raced back to retrieve his ruined sword and then made for the elliptical tower at a dead run.

**

Finding the roboticizer took a good deal of precious time; even Cat was not entirely sure where it was, and Antoine would never have found it if he hadn't come across Bunnie's scent in one of the endless corridors. After a few moments of following the trail he began hearing voices.

"It's no good, sir," a timid, vaguely familiar voice was saying. "This is certainly one of the missing palace children, but she isn't carrying any sort of tracing equipment."

"Y'all think we're that stupid?" Bunnie grumbled, thumping a fist against the clear capsule. Antoine nearly melted with relief at the sound of her voice; no robot sounded like that. He wasn't too late! The coyote crouched by the machine, trying to get his shivering under control as he began worrying at the panel with his sword.

"As a matter of fact I do," Robotnik told her, tapping the capsule with his own metal fist. Bunnie stepped back slightly but then set her feet, glaring up at him. "But never mind, my dear. You may not have a way home, but that simply means you know it well enough for me to extract it easily."

Bunnie gulped, uninjured ear drooping as severely as the bloodied one. "Y'all… y'all're bluffin'! That easy, an' you'd be in there already!"

"You think so, my dear?" Robotnik smiled, shaking his head slightly. "Think about it. Who knows Knothole better? My earlier robots, who knew of it as an occasional playground? Or a new one who has lived most of her life there?" He turned to flip a series of switches, activating the machine. Bunnie shrieked as pulses of agonizing light raced over her body, a hideous burning beginning at the tips of her toes and surging rapidly upward. Antoine, barely suppressing a scream of his own, grabbed a random handful of wires and jerked as hard as he could, sparks singing his fur and whiskers as the room went dark. For a long moment all was silent aside from Bunnie's shuddering breaths.

"_What happened_?!" Robotnik bellowed suddenly. Antoine and Snively both jumped, uttering nearly identical squeaks, and Snively hurried to placate his uncle.

"I-I don't know, sir—some sort of short, I suppose. Shall I, ah, investigate?"

"I'll fix it myself, you incompetent toad! Have the SWATbots start investigating the circuit breakers while I run diagnostic. I don't _have_ shorts in my fortress, it has to be that blasted rodent!" He stomped out, still spouting insults and orders, and Antoine crept out wondering how this place could possibly support any sort of vermin. Well, it wasn't his problem; miraculously, they had both left, and all _he_ had to do was take Bunnie and go!

Then he saw her, and was nearly ill. Both of the rabbit's legs, as well as her left arm, appeared to be fully mechanical; closer, he thought he could hear other machines within the unconscious girl.

He had been too slow.

Antoine stood for a long moment, not looking away but not touching her though the capsule had opened when the machine died. After several seconds he realized he was not even breathing. Was it even safe to take her? The roboticized were solely Robotnik's creatures; Sonic's uncle, his own father, and countless others were testament to that. Suppose Bunnie was the same?

No, he decided at last. Her face was normal, if pained, with no trace of robotic mindlessness. This was _Bunnie_. His friend. A moment more and he'd convinced himself to pick her up. She was surprisingly light—the new limbs did not seem to add much weight—and he could feel her trembling against him. Antoine swallowed hard and set off for home, Bunnie's scream still ringing in his flattened ears.


	2. Guilt

Bunnie's ear was throbbing, her limbs felt oddly stiff, and her body was shivering with the memory of recent pain and fear . The rabbit frowned at the ceiling, lying perfectly still as she tried to organize events in her mind. She and Antoine had been attacked by a patrol, which she had attempted to lead off after the coyote was injured trying to shield her. And then….

"How are you feeling, dear?"

She tilted her good ear toward the nanny, frowning a bit. Rosie's voice sounded unusually tremulous, the question holding a fearful hesitation that Bunnie had never heard from her.

"Kinda sick an' achy, Rosie," she whispered after a moment, noting that her own voice sounded strangely hoarse.

"That's not surprising," Cat noted drily from somewhere nearby. Bunnie's frown deepened after a moment; why were neither of them near her? It was unlike either of them to hang back when a child of Knothole was ill or injured. After a moment, however, Rosie's worried face appeared in her line of vision, the nanny pressing a glass of water into the rabbit's hand.

"Here, dear. Drink this; you'll feel better, I hope."

"Are you sure that's a good idea? It might do her harm." Cat came up beside Rosie as Bunnie sipped at the water. The old puma looked strangely grim as he studied Bunnie, who blinked bemusedly back at him. "How is, ah, your head?" He rubbed his own head, looking embarrassed. Bunnie screwed up her face in mild consternation as she studied them both, absently reaching up to touch her aching ear.

The motion produced a strange mechanical whirr, and she froze with her arm in midair. All three were very still for a long moment before Bunnie turned her head, slowly flexing newly robotic fingers.

"I got caught," she said faintly, strangely entranced by her hazy reflection in the metal limb. Rosie and Cat exchanged a long look before nodding reluctantly. "I was tryin' t'get those mean ol' 'bots away from Antoine, 'cuz he fell from the pile."

"We know, Bunnie," Rosie said slowly, settling on the edge of the bed and laying a trembling hand on her natural arm. Rosie, Bunnie realized with growing horror, was afraid, and even steady Cat seemed nervous.

Afraid of _her_.

"Rosie!" Sally's voice rang shrilly outside before Bunnie could think any further on that, startling her away from the lop-eared reflection. "Let me _in_! It's been a whole _day_, I want my room back and I want to see _Bunnie_!"

"Let 'er," Cat said after a moment. "It'll be all right, I think. There's no point in isolating her." Rosie nodded and opened the door to admit not just Sally but most of the children of Knothole, the little group surging in to cluster at Bunnie's bedside.

"Whoa," Sonic breathed, reaching gingerly for her metal arm but jerking his hand back before touching. "What can you _do_ with that?"

"That's _rude_, Sonic Hedgehog! You leave her alone!" Sally glared imperiously at him a moment before turning to Bunnie, expression growing concerned. "Are you okay? Does everything feel okay? How's your ear?"

"Well, Sally-girl, I can still hear." Bunnie raised a hand—the flesh hand this time—to touch her bandaged ear; in light of her other troubles, she'd nearly forgotten it. "Not too much harm done there." She smiled a little as she gazed at her friends, but it faded after a moment as she noticed a missing face. "Where's Antoine? Didn't he come back?"

"Well, yeah," Rotor said, frowning as he picked at the flowers he'd brought. "Antoine was the one who brought you back, but the thing is—"

"Ant's even weirder than usual," Sonic interrupted with a grimace. "I mean, he'll be okay, I guess, but he's just been really, _really_ weird."

**

Antoine plopped in the middle of the hut he'd occupied since delivering Bunnie to Cat and Rosie the day before, shoulders slumping. He had been unable to endure the rapid questions and breathless chatter of Sonic—his roommate for five years, despite their enormous differences—and in fact felt little inclined to speak to _anyone_ else, however they pleaded. Instead, he'd applied himself to scrubbing every surface of the disused hut; it gave him something to dwell on aside from Bunnie's fate, and the dirt at least was something he could drive out and control.

Now the dirt was gone and Antoine, still not ready to face his friends and certainly not Bunnie, was alone with his thoughts.

If he'd gone home when Bunnie suggested it—when they realized how thick the patrols actually were—this wouldn't have happened.

If he'd been a little more clever in driving off the patrol and escaping, instead of knocking himself unconscious and leaving Bunnie alone, this wouldn't have happened.

If he'd been faster in recovering, in realizing what had happened, in getting to the base and locating the roboticizer, in shutting it down, this wouldn't have happened.

No, he certainly couldn't face Bunnie, not yet. He was too nervous to even venture out for food at the moment. Instead, he got to his feet and paced around the unfurnished hut, pausing to scrub vigorously at a spot on the floor before realizing it was a knothole and leaving it. Even after the realization it was strangely irritating, and he found himself stripping off his shirt to cover it; he'd always been fastidious, one of the many sources of argument with Sonic, but now he found himself growing downright obsessive.

This, he decided, could not possibly be healthy. He glanced out the window, noting the moon just rising over the trees, and nodded slightly. Everyone would be indoors by now, and he could walk about and take a bit of fresh air without having to answer anymore questions.

Antoine crossed the village slowly, frowning at his own unaccustomed nervousness in their haven. Unsurprisingly, his sleep the night before had been plagued with nightmares, and now every sound and shadow seemed a dire threat until he was nearly as anxious in the darkened village as he had been in the glaring halls of Robotnik's fortress.

"Zis iz being too ridludicris," he grumbled, straightening to force himself to identify familiar landmarks. Was he a soldier, or some silly little cub?

"Twan!" squealed a voice just behind him, hands grabbing at his tail. Antoine leaped with a shriek—he was later sure he jumped nearly his own height—whirling in midair to face his assailant.

A pair of large turquoise eyes blinked up at him as Miles, a tiny fox kit Cat had recently found alone outside the city, tilted his head and then offered small hands and a baffled smile, strange double tails swishing.

"Twan?"

Antoine chuckled weakly and gathered the toddler up. "_Mais oui_, mah leetle friend. For what are you out so late?"

"Whee!" the fox squeaked in response to the foreign words, happily wrapping his thin arms and plush tails about the coyote. Miles, at least, didn't seem angry with him—but what did a four-year-old know? "Went walkin'."

"Zat I am seeing." Antoine started for Cat's hut; the kit had to be returned before anyone worried, after all. "And iz anyone else knowing zis?"

"Didn't tell."

As they approached Cat's dwelling, Sonic's voice rang from beyond the building.

"Ow! Hey! Cat, lay off! What're you doing?"

"I think _you_ oughtta tell _me_ that, boy," the puma replied. Both Cat and Sonic were hidden from Antoine and Miles' view; the fox and coyote exchanged a look and then Antoine moved closer, frowning. It sounded as if Sonic had been caught on one of his mysterious outings. "Where did you think you were going?"

"Out," Sonic grumbled.

"Out _where_?" Sonic was silent after that, and the frustration was evident in Cat's voice. "Answer me! You weren't going where you might be seen?"

"I was looking for Uncle Chuck," Sonic replied in a tiny, quavering voice after a moment. "I want to find Uncle Chuck."

Antoine tightened his grip on Miles, murmuring an apology when the kit squeaked in protest. Sonic _had_ been going into the city! Suppose he was the 'rodent' Robotnik mentioned? _He_ could have been the one that triggered the patrols that had caught Bunnie, and as much to blame as Antoine himself!

No, not as much to blame, Antoine decided after a moment. Bunnie had been his responsibility, after all, and he'd failed her. Still, the hedgehog had a lot to answer for.

"Do you have any _idea_ how dangerous that is?" Cat was saying as he came around the hut, tugging Sonic along with him. "I don't care how many 'SWATbutts' you trashed out there, young hedgehog, this is a serious—" He cut off as he saw Antoine and Miles; Sonic froze as well, blinking, and then waved weakly.

"Hey Tails. Up late, big guy? Um, nice to see you out, Antoine."

Miles squirmed happily at the nickname, patting Antoine's arm to indicate he wanted down. The coyote obliged without a word, nodding silently at Cat's thanks for finding the kit before hurrying back to the empty hut, ignoring Sonic's questioning shout.


	3. Coward

It was three days before Bunnie felt ready to get out of bed. When she did, her first step punched through the wooden floor and left her standing on the packed dirt beneath, the thick robotic limb wedged firmly in the remaining planks.

"Bunnie?!" Sally nearly fell out of her chair at the crash, and was now staring at her friend over the top of her book. "Oh my gosh, are you okay?"

"I think so." Bunnie tried to pull her leg free, only to have the other foot punch through as soon as she pressed down with it. "Oh, hell's _bells_!"

"Don't let Rosie hear you say that." Sally put her book aside and walked over to examine the problem, stopping as the damaged floorboards creaked under her weight. "Here, let me help."

With Sally coaching her steps and tugging her hands to help brace her, Bunnie managed to climb out of the hole and sit in her own chair. The chair didn't so much as squeak; the problem was obviously not weight, but force. She turned to share the observation with Sally, but stopped, frowning, when she noticed the princess grimacing and massaging her hand.

She'd been trying so hard to _not_ squeeze too tightly.

"Hand cramp," Sally explained with a weak smile, tucking both hands behind her back as she caught Bunnie staring. "I've been working with NICOLE more than ever because of all the training, so—"

"Yer a bad liar, Sally-girl," Bunnie said softly. Sally only looked away in embarrassment, silent as Bunnie got to her feet and headed out, stepping with exaggerated care.

**

Antoine gulped as the familiar scents of Robotropolis reached him, lowering his ears with nervousness. Beside him, Sonic looked out over the landscape with an air of bored impatience while Cat moved ahead of the boys to scout the outer fringes. Neither of them looked as concerned as Antoine felt; try as he might, he simply couldn't seem to carry off the nonchalance he'd shown only a few days ago.

"What's the _matter_ with you, Ant?" Sonic hissed as Cat moved out of earshot. "First you won't talk to anyone—and don't think Bunnie hasn't noticed you avoiding her—and now you're shakin' like rocks in a tin can!"

"I am ze nervelessness wizzout mah blade," Antoine replied stiffly after a few moments. It was partly true; the special insulation needed to protect him from conducted electricity was hard to come by, and he felt a bit out of sorts without either his sword or knowledge of when it would be replaced.

"Okay, fine, but what about holing up in that spare hut? Tails wants to know if you're moving back in, by the way. Wants to stay with me."

_I can control that space, if it's all to myself._ "He iz welcome to it. I am wanting to take a relax at some times and you do not rest."

"Do so." Sonic plopped on the oily ground, chin in hands. "So why are you here if you're so 'nervelessness' without your pokestick?" He was up and pacing before he finished the sentence. Antoine felt dizzy watching him.

_I want to prove I can still do it. I'm not a failure._ "I could use ze destruction."

"That's the spirit!" Sonic grinned, pausing to clap the coyote on the shoulder. "There's Cat's signal—let's go!" He dashed off to meet the puma, and after a moment Antoine, filled with unfamiliar misgivings, followed.

**

_CRUNCH_.

"Oh mah stars, Rotor, I'm so sorry!" Bunnie hastily set the mangled lump of machinery back on the walrus' work table, stepping back and hiding her hands. Rotor blinked mournfully at his erstwhile project, then picked it up to cradle it in one gloved hand as he surveyed the damage.

"Don't worry, Bunnie. It's not that important."

"Oh." She leaned forward a little, trying not to notice as Rotor moved a few more items out of easy reach. "What was it?"

He set the broken machine on a higher shelf, shuffling his feet. "Well, it was sort of a radar jammer. A prototype!" he added as he saw her stricken expression. "I mean, I was nowhere _near_ done, and it's not like anyone's really looking for us, right, so no worries! Right?"

"Oh." It was _very_ important, and someone might be looking for her at least—the one that got away. "I'm sorry, Rotor. I better go."

"No no, it's fine! Here, have a seat." He plopped on a bench himself, offering the rabbit a wooden cup. "Thornberry juice. So, how are you feeling?"

"Still a lil stiff, but not s'much. This silly ol' ear won't stand up, though." She took the cup as she settled beside him, waving a hand toward the ear torn by the mantis' blade. "Fur's growin' back nice, but I guess somethin' tore good."

"That's not so bad if it doesn't hurt anymore. Looks a little like Linda O'Hare—she used to do it on purpose. Remember those movies?"

"Yeah." Bunnie smiled, raising the cup for a sip—and suddenly shattering the wood, splattering juice over herself, the walrus, and several nearby projects and tools. Rotor leaped up with a yelp as some of the active machines sputtered sparks; Bunnie could only stare at the mess as drops of berry juice ran down her ears and face.

"Oh, honey, I'm _sorry_! Here, let me help!"

"No no, it's okay!" He looked up from one of the machines, waving a hand. "The sparks might be dangerous. Why don't you get washed up, and I'll see you later?"

_Where I can do less damage_. "Okay, honey. I'm sorry," she repeated as she headed out.

She broke through another floor on the way.

**

Antoine was only growing more nervous as they fell into the familiar routine of infiltrating the city. Every strange noise or passing patrol left him shivering in the shadows now, and he only had a faint idea why.

"Glad to know _you're_ in top form," Sonic grumbled as they watched a small group of SWATbots pass. "We _so_ coulda made it through ahead of them."

"I am not t'inking to take unnecessity risks," Antoine offered meekly. Sonic rolled his eyes as he stepped out of hiding.

"You 'are not thinking' is right. We're supposed to be watching for new activity while Cat looks for stuff on the robo-machine, not seeing how many ways we can match the scrapheaps."

"And who do you t'ink causes new activity, 'rodent'?" Antoine muttered, creeping after the hedgehog.

"Hedgehogs are not rodents," Sonic told him with all the dignity a ten-year-old could muster. "Porky-pines are. I might as well call you a jackal!"

Trust Sonic Hedgehog to miss the point entirely. Antoine sighed, shaking his head. Then his ears perked at a strange whirr, and he leaped forward to seize Sonic and drag the startled hedgehog back into the shadows as a hovering vehicle swept overhead, searchlights whisking across the path.

"Zat was very close."

"Oh come _on_!" Sonic squirmed free, fluffing his quills as he turned to glare. "I could outrun that!"

"And if you cannot?"

"Why _worry_ about it? Sheesh, it'd be _my_ problem. You'd be too busy hiding and whining, the way you're acting!"

"Your stupidness IZ mah problem!" Antoine growled back, fists clenched. _You're my friend, even if you _are _a noisy idiot. If I make another bad call or bad move and someone else gets hurt or caught…._ "Who do you t'ink _causes_ ze patrols which are giving such trouble, when before we moved well?"

"Like sitting in Knothole and finding flags was doing us any good! He's gonna know we're out here sooner or later!"

"We must have _caution_ or all is lost!"

"You're an idiot! And who's talking about caution here, Mister 'Ah am a sword-swingin' soljair'?"

"_Ferme ta bouche_!" Antoine thumped the other boy firmly between the ears, surprising himself as much as Sonic. For a moment the two only stared at each other; then Sonic lunged forward with an indignant yell, bowling Antoine over and swatting angrily at his nose. Putting himself in the coyote's grasp proved to be a mistake—he couldn't get away easily, and the two boys tussled until the sounds of another patrol caught their attention. They froze, all but clinging to each other, and then Sonic squirmed free and leaped onto a scrap heap.

"Hide, Ant! It's what you're good at these days, right? I'll get their attention!" He was off before Antoine could reply, leaving the coyote shivering in the shadows—paralyzed with worry and fear of making matters worse.

**

Bunnie plopped on the ground and leaned forward to pry slivers of wood from the seams in her feet, right ear drooping as badly as the injured left. Her friends had all been polite and supportive, but Rotor hadn't been the only one trying to discreetly move things from her path. Then there was the matter of Sally's bruised hand, and the fact that everyone seemed to be carefully avoiding her left side. On top of that, she still hadn't seen Antoine at all—the coyote might have rescued her, but now he was undeniably avoiding her.

However hard she tried to behave normally, Bunnie felt dangerous, her friends seemed to agree, and she was beginning to feel out of place.

And what if there were more to it than that? She could sense other machines within her, supporting the robotic limbs—and what else? Suppose Robotnik really could find Knothole through her, or something within her was waiting for a trigger to finish the roboticization? Cat had deemed it unlikely when she asked on the first day, but how did he _know_?

It was possible that, directly and indirectly, she was too dangerous to remain in the village.

"Grr! _Aaaargh_!"

Bunnie blinked at the growled sound effects and turned toward them, smiling a little as she spotted Miles making faces at himself in the faintly reflective metal of her left arm.

"Whatcha doin', Miles?"

The fox blinked up at her, tails swishing. "You gots mirrors now, Aunt Bunnie!"

Aunt Bunnie? It was sweet, she decided after a moment, if a little odd for a fox to call a rabbit 'aunt'. "I sure do, baby. You're not scared?"

"No. They're neat." He settled beside her, and she shifted to keep him on her right side. No sense taking unnecessary risks. "My name isn't Miles anymore. It's _Tails_."

"Is that right?"

"Sonic said. I'm gonna live with him if 'Twan doesn't wanna anymore." He reached to pick a bit of wood from between her toes. "The floors got lotsa holes."

Bunnie flinched a little, nodding. "Cuzza these dumb ol' legs."

"They're not _old_, they're _new_ legs. Anyway, if you can move with only a little fluffy tail instead of real ones, you can move with new legs."

"Maybe yer right." She got up, scooping Tails into her natural arm. "Guess I better practice more, huh?"

**

"You know, the best thing you can do for her is get over it."

Antoine jumped with a little squeak; he'd been so busy listening for patrols he'd missed the sound of Sonic's approach.

"Over…?"

"Yeah." Sonic hopped from the overhang and turned to face Antoine, arms folded. "Okay, yeah, you screwed up." Antoine nodded a little, ears wilting. "I admit it. I screwed up too, getting seen. Sonic Hedgehog, strange as it sounds, did something dumb. Don't expect to hear that again. Bunnie probably screwed up a little too. You can blame us, _or_ you can blame the guys whose fault this _really_ is and do something about it."

"Me?"

"_No_, you dumb dogbrain!" Sonic threw his hands up in exasperation, giving Antoine a disgusted look. "_Robotnik_! Blubberbolts! The Big Bad! It's not your fault, it's _his_!"

"I do not know, Sonic. If I was being wiser, faster—"

"_Stop_ it!" The hedgehog nearly shrieked in exasperation, beginning to pace. "All right, fine, whatever, take your conflex."

"Complex."

"Who speaks English here? Yeah, me, thanks. Anyway, fine, you obsess. You drive me nuts. Whatever, it's the Ant Way. But look, you gotta do something." He paused, eyeing his friend. "Talk to Bunnie, at least. Then I'll maybe think about forgiving you for hitting me and whining and sitting here shaking like a wuss. Ask _her_ if she blames you!"

"I cannot—"

"Wuss. Fine. Just talk to her and stop hiding in your shiny-clean hut, you weirdo."

Antoine considered this, and finally nodded. "Very well. Only fairness."

"Right! Now let's meet up with Cat and blow this joint!"

**

It was late evening before he got up the courage to approach Bunnie and Sally's hut, but as fireflies began lighting the village Antoine finally tapped nervously on the door.

"Miss Bunnie? Mah princess?"

"Bunnie's your princess now?" Sally teased as she peeked out. Antoine reddened slightly and shook his head, and she giggled over his protests as she drew him in. "About time you showed up!"

"Ant-honey!" Bunnie perked at the sight of him, good ear flicking toward him. Antoine began to relax in the face of her obvious pleasure, and he smiled as he stepped forward.

"'Allo, _ma cher_. I am sorry for not calling sooner, 'owever I was—AUGH!"

He had stumbled straight into the hole she'd left that morning. Bunnie automatically reached out to help break his fall, robotic hand closing around his left forearm. All three of them heard a distinct _snap_; then Antoine shrieked, going white beneath his fur.

Within seconds Rosie had arrived, freezing as she took in the scene.

"Oh dear me! Antoine, sweetheart, come here!" She ushered him out amongst questions from other Knotholers gathering to investigate the scene, Bunnie staring shell-shocked after them. After a moment she raised her hand, shivering at the spots of blood and tufts of brown hair marring the metal, and fled with a small sob, ignoring the worried questions of her friends as she raced out of the village.

What else was there for her to do?


	4. Friends

Antoine awoke groggy and nauseous, his left arm strangely heavy and throbbing with pain. He swallowed, blinking, and tried to shift it; it was largely immobile, and he glanced down to see a hard white cast, bound by a linen sling.

Of course. To his embarrassment, he'd fainted when Cat set his arm, and as soon as he recovered from _that_ something Rosie had given him had put him right back under.

"Antoine, sweetheart? Are you awake?" Rosie herself bustled in, bringing midmorning light with her; Antoine groaned faintly and shut his eyes against the stabbing sunbeams, opening one when the nurse brought something warm and fragrant close to his face. "Drink this, dear. It'll stop your arm hurting."

"And make ze sleep," he grumbled, pushing it away.

"Well, yes. You should still rest a little."

He shook his head, carefully pushing himself into a sitting position. "'Ow long do I sleep now?" He thought a moment, waiting for the room to stop spinning. "Where iz Bunnie?"

"Well, you slept through the night." Rosie frowned, carefully setting the mug on the nightstand. "Cat's looking for Bunnie. We thought she'd be home after a few hours, but when it got dark and she still wasn't here…." She sighed, shaking her head as she stepped back out. "We'll find her, and I'll let her know you asked. Drink your medicine, dear."

**

Bunnie awoke shivering, dew-damp, and cramped from being wedged between two large boulders. She stretched as much as the space allowed, wincing at the sound of metal against stone, and then squirmed free, wrinkling her nose as she heard the stone crack.

It seemed she was breaking _everything_ she came in contact with these days. No wonder Antoine had avoided her for so long.

He should have _kept_ his distance.

She started walking again, plodding slowly away from Knothole. The territory was still comfortingly familiar; she'd been out this way many times, usually on more cheerful errands. Still, she was far from ready to return to the village, and even felt a morose urge to lose herself in territory she _didn't_ know to make it that much harder to return. What if she hurt someone else? What if they didn't want her back at all?

"Bunnie!"

She twitched her good ear toward the sound. It was Cat, still a bit distant, hoarse and(she imagined)a bit impatient. Bunnie froze, considering. Cat rarely chased any child that went into the woods as long as they knew better than to head for the city; he believed in letting them have their privacy until they felt ready to return. If he was looking for her, it must be important.

Or perhaps he was simply angry at her and didn't want to wait to tell her so? Bunnie was usually one of the most practical of Knothole's children, but after the past few days the idea of being dragged back to where she'd done so much damage was too much. She plunged deeper into the woods, away from Cat and familiar territory.

**

Noon came and went with no sign of Bunnie. Near four o'clock, Cat came back puzzled and empty-handed. Antoine watched all this from his window, faintly surprised that Bunnie could manage to elude the puma. Of course, Cat _had_ been teaching them to hide trails for years, and Bunnie was clearly determined to evade someone who'd probably been advertising his presence the whole time.

Antoine sighed, pondering the idea of going after the rabbit. Once again, he was at the root of the problem, and he owed it to her. Didn't he?

If only the idea of going into the woods alone, and then either failing to find Bunnie or making the situation worse again, didn't give him that prickling, numbing anxiety that had become so familiar since that ill-fated mission.

_Stop that_, he told himself angrily. _A soldier is_ brave!

_I'm not a soldier, though. Just a sad, nervous little pup._

He paced restlessly about, tail flicking and ears flat, arguing quietly with himself. He had to go… but everything he'd _done_ lately fell to pieces, especially where Bunnie was concerned! Finally, his eyes fell on the little closet, still partly open from Rosie putting his boots away, and he caught sight of something blue and red, accented in gold.

His father's uniform tunic.

Antoine pulled the old uniform from his place, eyeing it; if he concentrated, he thought he could still catch his father's scent. After a moment he began struggling into it; it was difficult to work it over the broken arm, but he managed at last, fastening the top button to keep it from sliding off his shoulder. It was still a bit too big, though the cast gave him a bit of extra bulk.

Too big or not, he immediately felt better. Antoine took a deep breath and then crept from his hut, tiptoeing past Cat and Rosie's worried voices before hurrying into the forest in search of Bunnie's trail.

**

Bunnie settled atop a mossy log, scrubbing at her eyes with a little sniffle. She no longer had any clear idea where she was or how long she'd been out in the woods, and despite her attempts to not care she was growing lonely and frightened. Even so, she was still less frightened of the forest than she was of returning to her friends, so it was just as well she wasn't sure how to get back.

As the forest grew dark around her, she became aware of a faint rustling. Bunnie sat up straight, her good ear standing on end and turning this way and that as she tried to locate and identify the sound – something a bit off-balance, weaving through the undergrowth. She gulped, picturing injured, angry wild animals and SWATbots unaccustomed to the thick foliage before trying to relax, putting her chin in her hand with what she hoped was defiant nonchalance. Let it come, whatever it was – she didn't care.

Whatever it was, it emerged from the bushes and was still for nearly a minute before quietly sitting beside her. She frowned a little, keeping her gaze straight ahead a moment longer before curiosity got the better of her.

"Antoine!"

She tried to scoot away – amazingly, he was sitting on her left side – then froze as he laid his hand over her mechanical one, shaking his head.

"Do not flee, _ma belle_." He smiled tentatively, scooting close again. "I had enough time finding you now."

"Antoine, I don't—I didn't—I…." She sniffled, tears welling again as she looked at his arm – now in cast and sling.

"A minor mistake," he announced, waving his good hand negligently. "You learn quickly, _non_?"

"I guess," she mumbled, looking away.

"So. When are we to be returning to Knothole?"

"Oh. I…." She looked at him again, blinking back tears. "Yer not mad? It's yer good arm an' everythin'."

"I shall heal, and I shall use ze correct arm until zen."

"Right arm."

"_Oui_. Zat iz what I am saying."

She giggled in spite of herself, shaking her head. "No, Ant-honey, fer you th'left arm IS the 'correct arm'. You mean right." He stared at her in polite incomprehension, and she giggled harder. "Never you mind, sugar. You just use that 'correct arm', I'm sure it'll work fine 'til yer healed up."

"Yes, specifically as we seem to be staying in ze woods."

Bunnie watched him a moment, noting the nervousness that had come over the coyote since her capture, the way his broad ears twitched and quivered at every new sound. For all that he held firm, watching her earnestly, his good hand reaching up to brush a few fresh tears from her cheeks. After a moment she laughed again, more freely this time, and leaned forward to carefully wrap her arms around him, snuggling against his chest.

"Well, Ant-honey, you may be willin' t'stay, but this little rabbit wants to go home."

"As you are saying, _mademoiselle_." He wrapped his uninjured arm around her to give her a brief, gentle squeeze and they both stood, the coyote taking her hand to lead her home.


End file.
